25 Crazy Facts That Will Change The Way You View Pregnancy

Although most people will never be pregnant (considering that only about half of the population even has the possibility), pregnancy plays an important role in all of our lives. First of all, it is the reason you are here. It is the reason your ancestors were here. It is the reason that human society can move forward at all.

So, even if you are a man and don’t really find this topic interesting, we think that you might reconsider after reading this list. Pregnancy has been viewed differently throughout the ages. Even today, it is still linked deeply with cultural and societal norms. In different nations and different regions, it is treated and approached uniquely.

In some places, it is considered normal to give birth at home. In other places, this is nearly unheard of. Why is that? Today we are going to dive into the history of pregnancy and the interesting cultural aspects that surround it.

By the end of our list, you will most likely have found out several things that you didn’t know before about this extremely critical aspect of our nature. Get ready because these are 25 crazy facts that will change the way you view pregnancy!

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Featured Image: wikipedia

Last Updated onMay 28, 2019

25

Although there is no consensus as to why, many women claim that porcelain toilet seats will turn purple after they sit on them (possible explanations range from ph levels to yoga pants).

Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia

24

A baby's first bowel movement is called Meconium. It can be tested to see if the mother did drugs during pregnancy and in some places is grounds for determining whether or not the mother gets to keep the child.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

23

Female kangaroos (or does) are basically always pregnant. If there is a drought or famine, however, they can pause their pregnancies.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

22

Some women refuse to believe they are pregnant and instead believe that a tumor is growing inside of them. They may hide their pregnancy which can be dangerous for the fetus (1/475 women at 20 weeks).

Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay

21

Pregnancy denial can get much stronger than you would ever believe. 1/2500 women deny that they are pregnant...during delivery!

Source: wikipedia

20

Pseudocyesis is the reverse of pregnancy denial. This is a condition where the woman believes she is pregnant (and may even exhibit signs of pregnancy like a bloated belly), but actually isn't.

Source: huffintonpost.com, Image: wikipedia

19

Up until the 1960's, the only way to determine whether a woman was pregnant or not was to inject her urine into a female African clawed frog. If the woman was pregnant, the frog would ovulate within several hours.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

18

Although teenagers in the US and Europe exhibit similar levels of sexual activity, European teenagers have lower pregnancy rates because they use contraceptives more frequently.

Source: gutmacher.org, Image: wikipedia

17

Hormones released while breastfeeding help shrink the uterus back to its pre pregnancy size.

Source: webmd, Image: wikipedia

16

If a pregnant woman suffers damage to one of her organs (for example a heart attack), the fetus sends stem cells to repair it.

Source: discovermagazine.com, Image: wikipedia

15

In 2014, Lydia Fairchild of Washington was investigated for welfare fraud because her DNA did not match her kids. It was eventually determined that she was not even their biological mother even though she had given birth to them! How is that possible? Apparently, she was a chimera (combination of two people). When the mother was a fetus she was actually meant to have a twin, but her body assimilated the DNA of her twin (who was never born).

Source: opposingviews.com, Image: pixabay

14

Rolls Royce only uses bull hides on their car seats because female cows sometimes get stretch marks during pregnancy.

Source: thehogring.com, Image: wikipedia

13

1 in 20 American women have an unplanned pregnancy every year.

Source: washingtonpost.com, Image: wikipedia

12

Before 1978 it was legal to fire a woman if she became pregnant.

Source: eeoc.gov, Image: wikipedia

11

If a woman gets pregnant while she is pregnant it is called superfetation.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

10

In 1991, Gaby Siegel, a brain dead woman, was kept alive artificially for three months because she was pregnant. She delivered a healthy son.

Image: MilitaryHealth via Flickr

9

Dollar store pregnancy tests are just as sensitive as more expensive brand name tests.

Source: fertilityplus.com, Image: wikipedia

8

The MTV show 16 and Pregnant has been linked to decreased teen pregnancies.

Source: npr, Image: wikipedia

7

Fetal abduction is when a woman pretends to be pregnant and then kills another woman (who is actually pregnant) to steal her baby by way of a cesarean section.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

6

The first recorded case of this happening was in 1987 when Darci Pierce strangled Cindy Ray and cut her baby out of her stomach using her car keys.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

5

Biologists at Cornell University found that morning sicknesses is mother natures way of clearing toxins out of a pregnant woman's body (by way of vomit).

Source: cornell.edu

4

The first pregnancy tests were in Ancient Egypt. A woman would pee on a field of wheat and barley. If wheat sprouted it was a girl, if barley sprouted it was a boy, and if nothing sprouted, she wasn't pregnant.

Source: mentalfloss.com, Image: wikipedia

3

Between 2007 and 2011, free birth control was distributed to young women in the St Louis area. During that time period abortions decreased by 75%.

Source: esciencenews.com, Image: wikipedia

2

In order to see whether a polar bear is pregnant, zoo keepers have a specially trained beagle from Cincinnati by the name of Elvis smell the polar bear's poop.

Source: nationalgeographic.com, Image: wikipedia

1

Mosquitos normally drink nectar. They only suck on blood when they are pregnant.

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